


Your World

by orphan_account



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-22
Updated: 2006-04-22
Packaged: 2017-11-15 03:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/522768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the very last minute, Sakuno gathers the courage to ask Ryoma to a school dance, and somehow, he ends up agreeing. But will he have more in store for her than some petty little date?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Echizen Ryoma peered down at the courts from his lonesome desk, ponta perched on his thirsty lips as he muttered derisive commentary. Mr. Four-Years-Tennis-Experience was pitted up against a new member of the tennis club, a second year by the name of Ochi. Horio swore this guy was gold, and he could barely hit a ball past him. Of course, that was nothing impressive. Indeed, Ochi got many balls past his senpai, even hit a half-assed smash or two.

"Game, Ochi, six games to two-"

His backhand was too stiff, however, and his net play needed work, his timing was off, and if he were paired against any of Ryoma's former senpai, he'd be doomed. Ochi wasn't anymore gold than Horio was quiet. However, the unimpressed captain scribbled _Ochi Yukio_ in D Block with Katou, Mizuno, Saki, and a few others he could barely recall.

"So, have you finished your selections?" asked Ryuzaki-sensei from across the room. Ryoma peered down at his sheet. Once again, nothing special. He was the last remaining regular of one of the most renowned tennis teams Seishun Gakuen had ever seen. Naturally, he followed in the steps of Tezuka Kunimitsu, hoping that he, too, would be able to bring a team to the Nationals. So far, however, there haven't been any special talents. No all-feared doubles team, no smiling tensai, or any other weirdoes with flashy tricks rolled up their sleeves. Sure, Seigaku had a few power houses, a few tricksters, and, of course, their infamous captain that took the Kantou region by storm as a freshman, but other than that, it just wasn't the same.

Ryoma handed coach Ryuzaki the selection sheets for the upcoming ranking tournament. He knew Horio, Katou, Mizuno, and some other guys would probably make the team. Maybe even that boring Ochi boy would.

The way Ochi styled his hair and the way he hit smashes reminded Ryoma a lot of Momoshiro. They hadn't gone out for burgers in awhile. It was more fun when Kikumaru was stuck paying for them. That was all in the past, though. Kikumaru, Oishi, and Tezuka all attended some diligent high school out of his way and were constantly busy.

He left the room with every intention of heading straight home. He was more than ready for the matches, but he wasn't in the mood to practice with his team. Horio would probably bore everyone to sleep with stories of his tennis experience, then Ryoma would step in and make them all run laps. After all, if they planned to get anywhere in the Kantou tournament, they're going to have to work hard and train for it. For once, he was sorry he didn't have any Inui Juice to give them all that extra push.

As he headed for his own court, he stopped to take a look at the girl's court, just to see if they were fairing any better than his own. They weren't anything special either, but they were all right. The first he noticed was the ever jabbering Osakada (who could miss her voice?) who'd developed into a pretty good player. Her backhand was more smooth than Ochi's. She was fast, too, and persistent. She hadn't forgotten their days as freshman, obviously, stealing all those moves from his senpai-tachi.

Then there was Ryuzaki Sakuno, who'd been in the club since her freshman year. Ryoma observed her closely. A girl who couldn't even handle an underhand serve by him two years ago still worked at tennis, but hadn't improved all that much. He wondered why she wasted her time like this. She ran fast, but missed about five balls against her rallying opponent. He'd noticed a few other girls weren't doing too badly. Again, nothing impressive, but at least it was more interesting than his team.

It was getting late, and he had no reason to stick around much longer. It was Friday, so he gathered up his Regulars as the freshman gathered balls. He put Matsuri and Murakami on shopping duty, he told Kurugusawa to work on his stamina, and he told Mizuno and Horio to stop arguing. Really, nothing out of the ordinary.

"And practice hard. You all need it."

"Later, Echizen-buchou!" said each regular, one by one, as they left the club house, changed and ready to start their weekend (of diligent practicing, Ryoma hoped in vain.)

He hadn't noticed, after fastening the last button on his uniform, that Ochi was still there, baring him the most lustful, demanding look. Ryoma pulled his hat down over his eyes and dragged himself to the door.

"Later," he said, only to feel his kouhai's hand on his shoulder. _Great_ , Ryoma thought, _here it comes_ -

"Wait, Echizen-buchou," _-yeah, I figured that much._ He shrugged the hand off of his shoulder, but kept his back turned toward Ochi. "I want to have a match with you."

Ryoma never turned down a good match. With his charismatic grin and pretentious attitude that struck every nerve of his elders, he was usually the one to initiate them. Now that he had all this fame and respect, it wasn't quite as fun. He always got pinned up against guys who couldn't play worth a crap; guys who already knew they'd lose to Echizen. Ochi was trembling because he knew he wasn't ready. And if he wasn't ready, Ryoma didn't want to waste his time.

"I'm busy." Ryoma sauntered a few feet away, then turned toward the bewildered second year. Did he really think he was good enough, with those quivering fingers and those large, awestruck eyes? Those weak returns at the net? That slow footwork? That pride that he could defeat Horio? Yes, he could defeat Horio. After two more years of tennis experience, Horio's game had gotten much better. Nothing notable, but nothing grossly pathetic as he was in his freshman year. Just because Ochi was able to take a match from Seigaku's vice-captain didn't mean he was anything special, though. It didn't mean he was ready. He was in the same boat as all the other Regulars.

"Please, buchou. You don't know what you're missing." Here comes the comforting arrogant front they all put on. It wasn't as if Ryoma hadn't heard it before.

"Sorry, I have someone I need to meet. Maybe next time." Ryoma waved once and was off, becoming a tiny silhouette in the sunset as he headed off down the street. Ochi's eyes followed his buchou's disappearing figure with a great deal of disappointment. He didn't think his captain could be such a coward.

\---

Ryuzaki Sakuno wiped the last bead of sweat from her forehead after a hard day's practice. She couldn't believe her luck. For whatever reason, the foreboding sense that someone had been watching her really distracted her from her rally with Usugi-chan, and she was only a beginner. It'd been a long day, too- a long week, actually. Seigaku was holding that big, formal dance pretty soon, and she hadn't the nerve to ask a boy.

 _The_ boy, she should think.

To add more stones to her tower of anxiety, the boy she wanted to ask was always so busy. She hadn't seen Ryoma in awhile; she hadn't the time to cheer his team on. Being buried in studies was not her idea of a good beginning to her third year at Seishun Gakuen Junior High. Those midterms were not going to be easy.

 _'All the more reason to ask him to the dance, Sakuno!'_ Tomoka would tell her, and she'd just shake her head and blush. It was such a long time. She bet if Ryoma saw her, he wouldn't even remember who she was. That thought alone terrified her, but with the lingering possibility that he'd say no, or she'd choke and run away before the words came out. Echizen Ryoma had no clue just how much of her heart she placed into his hands, and he'd be just the type to let it drop and shatter. It was best if they just pretended not to know each other (well, she pretended, anyway.)

"You'd play better if your head wasn't always in the clouds-" a sultry voice from behind her proclaimed. She was startled to a hault. Ryoma stood beside her, grinning. "Mada mada dane."

"Y... you saw me play today?" Her face flushed completely, and she buried her face into her hands. This was the first time they'd spoken in months, and this is what happens. How embarrassed can you get?

Wait a minute? Why was he even speaking to her in the first place?

They walked in stride, a few minutes of awkward silence passing as they headed nowhere in particular together. It was late. It was Friday. Neither of them had anything better to do. That was Ryoma's reasoning, anyway. He just happened to see a pensive Sakuno dragging herself along in that typical had-a-bad-day kind of fashion. It was a great last-minute excuse to ditch Ochi, too. He really hoped that guy didn't make the Regulars.

"Um... Ryoma-kun... its been a long time-"

"Has it?"

She let rip a quiet, sullen sigh. There was no way. No way in the whole wide world she was going to ask Ryoma to that dance. It gave her goosebumps just thinking about it. He was much too busy for that. Plus, there were hundreds of other girls he could choose from, most of which being much prettier and less annoying than she was. He probably already had a date. She always got the impression Ryoma was annoyed by her in some way. Sure, he seemed that way around everyone, even the people he cared about, but... she expected so much out of love as a child. How could she ask Ryoma for something he just couldn't deliver? How could-

"Ne, you're about to walk into-"

 _WHAM!_ The sudden contact with the metallic object startled her so much she fell backwards onto the ground.

"-a mailbox."

"Mou-" Sakuno groaned miserably as she stood up and rubbed her side. Maybe she was thinking a little too much if she couldn't even pay attention to what was right in front of her.

"You can't even see where you're going out here. What makes you think you have a chance on the courts?"

Tears began to splash over the walls of her lids, and all Ryoma could do was give her that tired, aimless expression he often wore. That heaved a sharp jab right into her soul, and the sea began to flood down her face.

"Ryoma-kun-"

\---

He couldn't say no.

That gamble he took really did turn out to be a dangerous one. Even the renowned Echizen Ryoma was capable of dumb mistakes. What what a dumb mistake that was!

Slipping away from that talentless Ochi who grated his every nerve nerve via Ryuzaki should've been a piece of cake. She was a quiet girl, making her tolerable at best. She was too shy and passive, though; she could never stand up for herself when they were freshmen. It was pretty annoying, and made her personality seem every bit as flat as a sheet of cardboard. Not much different from all the other girls he knew, though. He'd played her knight in shining armor a few times, which did have its perks. The mountain of balls he won from Ginka was still sitting in a box in his room. It was fun dragging down an entire tennis team for her, just for the hell of it. It made his day somewhat interesting. He took delight in defeating pretentious dipshits who didn't take the time to learn who their opponents were.

This time, however, he really underestimated his own opponent. It was someone he felt he was least likely to call an "opponent", but she sure as hell felt like one. Ryuzaki Sakuno always ran away when he made her cry, and he expected her to do so once again, being, well, Sakuno and all. Not this time, however. This time, she was driven right through her tears. This time, she would be heard.

_"Ryoma-kun... I want you to take me to the school dance tomorrow."_

_He froze._

_What a thing for a girl to ask after being blatantly insulted! Yes, he'd known all about the dance. How could he not? At least five girls a day asked him for the past month, and he promptly refused every single one. It wasn't that he didn't like girls, or that he thought he was too good for them (as quite a few of them emphatically shot right in his face after being turned down.) It just wasn't his thing. He didn't like social get-togethers, loud music, people, anything! His life was only one constant, and that was tennis._

_However, at the very last minute, a determined Sakuno, through florid tear-strewn eyes, gathered the courage to ask. For once, she'd set herself on a much higher playing field as all the other girls. This was was the pearl finally torn from its shell._

_He spoke the words before he could think them._

_"Sure."_

He fell backward onto his bed and scratched Karupin behind the ears. Just what in the hell had he gotten himself into?

T B C


	2. Chapter 2

_He said yes._

A contemplative Sakuno took a seat on her bed while slowly undoing her long braids. On the street, with the sunset painted behind his broad shoulders, he had looked right at her. She couldn't make out his expression; his face was a blur through the floodgate. Still, she could imagine that he was pretty surprised. It wasn't often that she just recklessly blurted out things like that, especially something she held so dear to her. She thought she might catch him off the court rallying against a stone wall, or eating at his favorite burger joint, or something. Anything was more romantic than the middle of the sidewalk, while she had tears running down her face, no less!

The spur of the moment had really caught her; though, and her emotions got the better of her. It was the most embarrassing, impulsive thing she had ever done, and when she got no immediate answer (even the blunt "no" she'd expected would have sufficed) she wanted to sink into the ground and disappear forever.

After a few grueling moments, he finally agreed, but his voice was as cold and blasé as ever. Yet he agreed. Had he really not been asked prior to their conversation? She couldn't believe that, he was far too handsome. Knowing him, he probably ignored and avoided girls as much as possible, since the moment the dance had been mentioned. That's just how he was.

What could have driven him to agree to this, though? The more she thought about it, the more it seemed very unRyoma-like. Surely he didn't pity her. He had seen her cry many times; hell, he'd even been the cause of it on more than one occasion. The most he'd ever done to make up for it was buying her ponta, which was more than she expected out of him. Sometimes, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why she'd hung onto him so long.

But... he said yes. Not only that, but there was nobody standing behind him to force him into it. Her grandma didn't have to ask him for her, his dad didn't have to strand him there with her. This time, he decided to be with her all on his own. It was what she'd been waiting for, the reason why she held on so long.

The only problem she had left to face was finding something good to wear.

\---

"Oi, Echizen!"

"Ochibi!"

It was late, and Ryoma decided to go out. When sleep wouldn't come, and bath salts did nothing to calm his nerves, and heck, even agreeing (for once) to clean Karupin's litter box couldn't take his mind off of life's stupid mishaps, any distraction from his twisted world was welcome. No two people were better at being loud, obnoxious, and abusive as his senpai.

When Momoshiro and Kikumaru each wrapped loving arms around his shoulders and proceeded to choke the life out of him, it was the perfect distraction. After all, breathing was more important than thinking of how he had condemned himself to a night of certain misery tomorrow evening. Why did he have to say yes?

Wow, even the perfect distraction had its flaws. Ryoma frowned.

"That's strange. Ochibi didn't complain, Momo," said Kikumaru, whose look of delight suddenly sunk into a look of amused confusion.

"Maybe I was too busy trying to breathe," Ryoma retorted, placing his protective mask of indifference back on as he headed into the burger joint. The two older boys behind him shared a chuckle as they followed the pint sized captain to their seats.

Same old Echizen.

They ordered their trays of food, pinning all of the expenses on Ryoma. Now it was "buchou's treat," despite the fact that he was only captain of the _junior_ high tennis team, and the two boys sitting across from him were in high school. Still, a title was a title, apparently, and Kikumaru was saving up his money for new car anyway. After all the times the vibrant red-head had treated them, Ryoma was still skeptical to believe that Kikumaru was capable of saving money. Maybe he just used it as an excuse when Momo's diet of ten burgers increased to twelve.

"What'd you call us out here so late at night for, Echizen? I thought you'd be sleeping by now."

"You're still the baby in our group, you know. You need your rest, nya," Kikumaru and Momo snickered. Apparently, Ryoma was only "buchou" when he was paying for food.

When the two of them were done giggling like idiots, their eyes met his simultaneously, sharing an inquisitive stare. He ducked his head down. He even stuffed a huge bite of burger into his mouth, just to evade the rest of their inevitable questions. He didn't call them out here to talk about his problems. Hell, he didn't call them out here at all! He just called Momo because he felt like it, and Kikumaru just happened to be over his house at the time. Momo was the one that suggested they all go out for burgers. Maybe Ryoma actually agreeing to treat, rather than hanging up on him and attempting sleep again, made them curious.

"Does Ochibi have a girlfriend?" Kikumaru whispered to Momo, causing the boy across the table to almost choke on his food. Ryuzaki wasn't his _girlfriend_! She was just another problem he had to deal with, along with his crappy tennis team, and this burger he was having way too much trouble swallowing. His senpai must've been stupid not to see that.

"Don!" the powerhouse exclaimed, jabbing a finger toward Ryoma. "I think you hit the nail on the head, Eiji-senpai."

"Hehe, of course. That's the same exact face you made when I outed you and Tachibana's sister."

Momo's face went florid and he slammed his hands against the table. "Like you and Oishi-senpai were any better!"

Kikumaru cringed with a creeping blush of his own. "At least it didn't take me a million years to admit that I liked him!"

"Oi, Echizen!" Momo's voice froze the kid's body in place. His attempt at sneaking off, while his senpai duked it out over their own boring love lives, was an obvious failure. Kikumaru now attached himself to the shorter boy and started rocking him back and forth.

"You're not going anywhere, short stuff. Not until you tell us all about your girlfriend."

\---

It was a groggy mid-morning Sakuno had awoken to.

Knowing that putting it off until the last minute would cause her to be late for the dance, Sakuno spent half the previous night raiding her closet for a dress. It was to no avail, however. She couldn't find a single dress she thought she looked good in. Some of them were too frilly, some were too long, some were too yellow, none of them really brought out her eyes. She didn't want to have to go out and buy a new one. That would take hours! Then she wouldn't have time to do anything special with her hair. Maybe Tomoka would have something.

"That's right! Tomo-chan."

She'd want to hear that her best friend finally bagged the cutest, most talented guy in Seishun Gakuen. Why wasn't that the first thing she did? She always confided in Tomoka, being the much bolder half of their little duo. The whole situation had been so overwhelming that she couldn't even think straight.

Sakuno dialed up Tomo's number, and when someone answered, she heard a strained voice on the other line say, "Sakuno, this isn't a good time. My brother just knocked over a shelf in the fridge and I- "

"Tomo-chan, it's about Ryoma-kun."

Suddenly, Tomo's voice switched from ghastly to utterly delighted. "Did you ask him to the dance! Did Ryoma-sama say yes?"

The shy girl shoved the phone away from her face, half out of being startled by the immediate, spot-on assumption, and half on a count of Tomo's voice blaring through the tiny receiver. She had no clue such volume was capable of coming through such a tiny speaker. She hoped she wouldn't go deaf by the end of this conversation.

"Yes, Tomo-chan, he did."

Again, Sakuno held the phone a few feet away from her face, as her best friend conveyed her shrill bout of rapture on the other end. She listened carefully as Tomo told her all the things they were going to do in preparation, and even claimed to have the perfect dress for her before she could even ask.

Well, that was easier than she thought it'd be.

\---

Ryoma was barely into his breakfast when Nanako informed him that he had visitors.

"Hoi, hoi! G'morning, Ochibi," said Kikumaru, the first to enter the house with Momo right on his tail. All of his other senpai-tachi; yes, all of them; even Kaidoh; even _Tezuka_ ; were all standing outside his house. This promised to be the longest day of his life, he just knew it.

"Eiji, don't you think it would've been polite to wait for Echizen to invite us in?" Oishi asked, still standing outside with the rest of the guys.

"And risk getting the door slammed in my face? I don't think so." He gave Ryoma a noogie, to which the smaller boy responded a groan and a pout of exasperation. That guy would never grow up.

"You might as well let them in, brat. They don't look like they have any other plans, heh-heh," Nanjiroh said from behind his newspaper (or dirty magazine, he should think.)

_Thanks a lot, oyaji._

"... Whatever... "

One by one, the remainder of Seigaku's legendary Regulars entered the Echizen home. Kawamura was looking shy and quiet as usual, with a bit of stubble growing on his chin now. Fuji still had a creepy smile on his face, and undoubtedly had something weird on his mind. Kaidoh hissed _'hello'_ to him and still wore a bandana; he hadn't changed at all. Inui still carried around that damn notebook, and his hair was longer, yet unkempt as usual. Oishi must've apologized for Kikumaru at least three times upon entering, and Ryoma just stood there and nodded boredly. Tezuka was the last to step inside and hadn't said so much as _hello_. Well, all right then.

Once the boys had been seated in the living room and Nanako served tea to all of them, Kikumaru took the lead in initiating a conversation amongst their group.

"Ahem. I, Kikumaru-sama, master of acrobatics and one half of the greatest doubles team Kantou has ever seen-"

"Just get on with it, Eiji-senpai!"

"Oi, Momo-chin! You're screwing with my moment!"

Fuji chuckled, Oishi smiled, Inui scribbled down notes, Ryoma rolled his eyes, the rest did nothing. Kikumaru continued.

"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted- I've called us all here to celebrate our little guy finally getting a girlfriend, nya!"

"She's not my girlfri-" Ryoma attempted to justify, only to be drowned out by the murmurs of the other boys.

"Saa, so that's what this is all about. How cute." Fuji's smile grew just the tiniest bit, which caused Ryoma's blood to freeze.

"Echizen has inevitably discovered females. Given the data I've collected on him during our stay at Seishun, it's a 87.9 percent chance it's Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, a 36 percent chance it's Osakada-san, a 23.1 percent chance it's Hanamura-sensei of Jyousei Shounan-"

"Don't even kid me like that-" Ryoma muttered.

Inui cackled.

"Che, my training was disrupted for this?" Kaidoh muttered with his arms crossed. Ryoma felt his pain.

"Oi, stupid Viper! Echizen getting a girlfriend is a big deal, okay!"

"No it's not," Ryoma uttered in vain.

"Shut up, bastard! Who asked you?" Kaidoh and Momo were in their zone now, arguing at the top of their lungs, until Tezuka intervened by merely clearing his throat. They shut up.

"Is Ryuzaki-san really your girlfriend, Echizen?" Fuji asked, getting more into this by the second. Ryoma wanted to hide, now. When Fuji got curious, things got dangerous.

"Of course she is," said Momo, grinning like a dork. "Those two have been madly in love since they were first years."

"Ano, Echizen, you don't look happy," Oishi said suddenly. The rest looked up at him like he was crazy. That's how Echizen always looked, but of course he was happy! He had a girlfriend now.

"You're exactly right, Oishi-senpai-" said Ryoma, shocking everyone into silence. All eyes were on him, now. "-I'm not."

Kikumaru was about to interrupt, then Fuji rested a hand upon his shoulder. He hadn't lost his smile, though. This was exactly where it was going to get interesting.

"You're all being too loud and stupid, and you're not listening to me. Ryuzaki-san is _not_ my girlfriend."

The room fell deathly silent for a few moments, save for the distant sounds of Karupin eating in the kitchen and Nanjiroh ravishing his porn.

Momoshiro was the first to speak, looking embarrassed, yet serious. "An-chan wasn't my girlfriend either, until she asked me to go to with her to her school's dance. She was gonna go with Kamio-kun, but he couldn't because he sprained his ankle, I think-" he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "-he hasn't forgiven me since."

For the first time that day, the look in Kikumaru's eyes went from fiery and ecstatic to... serene, almost. He sat beside Oishi and took his hand. "I've liked Oishi for a really long time, but I couldn't figure out a good time to admit it. And then I went to a dance with this girl, who ditched me five minutes after we got there, so I found Oishi and spent time with him instead." He smiled and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "He looked better in a tux anyway, and was a better kisser."

Oishi intervened nervously. "Yeah, that was... quite a night. We-"

"We've heard enough!" Momo and Kaidoh said simultaneously. It took all of maybe five seconds for Kaidoh to apologize for being disrespectful toward his senpai. Momo, however, continued to cringe. He didn't want to think about Kikumaru kissing _anybody_ , let alone _Oishi-senpai_.

Fuji broke the tense air with his own two cents. "Saa, Eiji, you forgot to mention how Momo bet you a thousand yen that you wouldn't come clean."

"Thanks, Fuji." Kikumaru glared at Momo. "You still haven't paid me, you know."

"Hey, I thought we were even! You bet me that much that I wouldn't be able to get with An-chan."

Speak of the devil, that's exactly who was on the phone when Momo's cell went off. The rest of the discussion faded from Ryoma when he drifted off to sleep right in the middle of the floor, unbeknownst to his blabbering senpai.

Hearing about love lives was so boring. He wasn't in the mood to hear anymore stories today.

\---

It was by late afternoon that the butterflies in Sakuno's stomach really began to tear it up.

"Tomo-chan... I'm not sure I can go through with this," she said in a hushed voice, as Tomo tugged at all kinds of snags in the shy girl's hair. She wiped her brow and placed the brush aside for a moment to observe her best friend.

"I think you should get your hair cut before going."

"W-what!" Sakuno stared up at her friend with horror plastered across her face. "I couldn't do that."

"But you said you wanted to do something special with it. It's too long for that!"

"Mou... " Sakuno looked miserably in the mirror at the sheet of wonderful, flowing hair she'd grown since childhood. She couldn't part with it now. She just couldn't.

"Hey, there you are, Sakuno-chan! I've been looking all over the place for you," said Tachibana An, cheerful as always, with a purse gripped in both hands. Tomoka and Sakuno turned toward the door, curious as to why they suddenly had a new visitor.

"Hello, An-chan," Sakuno greeted in a quiet, timid voice.

"Oi, oi, oi! This is a private bonding session between best friends before I give her to Ryoma-sama. Who said you could interfere?" said Tomoka, sounding annoyed that this uninvited visitor just happened to find her house. An glared at her in return. Sakuno was her best friend, too. Seishun's loudest fangirl needed to learn the concept of sharing.

Despite the Tomoka's furious demeanor, An entered her room in stride and grabbed a handful of Sakuno's hair. "I agree with Osakada. I think we should at least take off a few inches."

"DON'T TOUCH HER HAIR! I JUST... you agree?"

An smiled. "Yes, and I can make it look really good, too. I've been studying hair care in my spare time, haha."

"Ano... but it's... why are you here?" Sakuno asked, hoping the subject change would stray the two eager girls away from the subject of her hair. She loved her hair too much, no matter how many times it made her late for school when she took too long to brush it.

"Momo asked me to come help you girls out, while he and the others take care of Echizen-kun."

"The others?" Tomoka and Sakuno asked.

"Apparently, _all_ of his former teammates from his first year are there with him-"

"Even Kaidoh-senpai?"

"And _Tezuka_ -buchou?"

An giggled. "Yup, even them. They're giving Echizen-kun lessons on how to become a ladies man. Or they're just bugging him. Either way, it'll make him happy to see you when the time comes." She found that concept more amusing than serious, of course, but the fact that Echizen was dealing with it said a lot. Having so many great friends must've melted that frozen interior of his. It's about damn time.

Sakuno smiled genuinely for the first time all day.

"Ano, R-Ryoma-kun did tell me a long time ago that... my hair was too long. For tennis, I mean!"

An already had the comb, the scissors, and the waste basket prepared for it. "That's the spirit!"

\---

Ryoma didn't need Inui's data book to predict that today was going to be a long day.

After waking up from his nap, he realized that he hadn't touched a tennis racket all day, and it was annoying him in the worst way, now. In his living room, he was still surrounded by eight decent tennis players, and not a one of them offered a match. Or a rally. Or anything pertaining to tennis. They just kept blabbering on about all the ways to treat a girl. Tezuka even had a few words of advice, something about being himself, and not being reckless. Kawamura said, if they wanted to stop by for free sushi after the dance, they were welcome to. Kaidoh was just itching to move, and since Momo and Kikumaru spent the majority of the day annoying the poo out of their kouhai, Tezuka advised them to hit the courts. Now the Golden Pair was up against the ever-quarrelling Momoshiro-Kaidoh Pair.

But did Tezuka even consider that Ryoma, just maybe, wanted to be out there playing tennis, too? Not at all. That surprised him, too. He figured his former captain was itching to play just as badly, but nerves of steel left that man eternally unpredictable.

A day without tennis was like a day without breathing to Ryoma. He'd get at least one match in before this date, or he was calling it off.

After the Golden Pair devastated Momo and Kaidoh six games to one, Nanjiroh decided to make himself known. In honor of his son finally getting a girlfriend, he showed Ryoma the floorboard he hid all of his best porn under. "In case your new girlfriend drops your dinky ass like a rock, you know where to go when you need to feel better."

The guys were all awed by the amount of profanity resting beneath their very feet. Inui remarked that it was _illogical_! Ryoma had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.

"Fsssssh, Echizen's father is a pervert." Kaidoh turned away with a disgusted blush on his face.

"Not even my brothers' collection combined could match that!" a wide-eyed Kikumaru exclaimed.

"How would you know, Eiji-senpai? Do you go poking through it yourself?" Momo said with a laugh.

"N-no! They were the ones who tried to force it on me. Honest."

"Yeah, right."

Kikumaru pouted and dragged his blushing, speechless boyfriend away from the floorboard scene before either of them had a chance to lose it.

"Oyaji. Tennis court. Right now." Ryoma growled. He'd already grabbed his racket and was ready to whoop this sorry old man's ass.

"Echizen, your dance is in less than two hours. Can you really finish a whole game before then?" Kawamura said, skeptical as always.

"Hold on," Ryoma tapped the gut a few times, then handed Kawamura the racket. "I'm going to get a better one."

"GREATO! ECHIZEN WILL TEAR DOWN THIS TIRED OLD MAN, BABY!"

\---

Sakuno had never cried so hard in her life.

"Maybe... a little too short?"

It didn't look too short to An by any means. When it dried it would fall a few centimeters below her shoulders. She thought it was the perfect length for that kind of hair; it was the longest An ever let her's grow. With just a little less than two hours left before the dance, she and Tomoka simply couldn't allow Sakuno's pretty face to be stained with tears.

"You look really good, Sakuno. Honest," said Tomoka, patting her best friend on the shoulder, but to no avail. Sakuno buried her face deeper into her hands and continued to sob.

"You have a date soon, Sakuno-chan. Don't you think Echizen-kun will feel awkward if the first thing he sees is you crying?"

Sakuno moaned. "I'm not going. I can't let Ryoma-kun see me like this."

T B C


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm not going. I can't let Ryoma-kun see me like this."

Tomoka and An were speechless. It was uncanny how a simple little haircut could bring such a wave of tears to their friend. She must've cried at least three hankies worth of them, and it was less than an hour before her expected date would be picking her up for her big night. How in the world could they tell him that it was cancelled? If he was willing to go an entire day of being mauled by his senpai just for this, it obviously meant _something_ to him. You just didn't take anything away from that boy, especially the new thrill and experience first love could bring.

It just wasn't right. Sakuno's hair couldn't have been _that_ important, could it?

Once her words started to sink in, Tomoka balled and unballed her fists, and landed a skin searing slap across An's face.

"Why did you have to cut it THAT short? Now you've ruined the whole night!"

An clutched her cheek in disbelief, though her face eventually scrunched into the same livid state as the Seigaku girl's.

"It wasn't as if you weren't gung-ho about cutting her hair. If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't have done it!"

"You should have known! Aren't you supposed to be her friend?"

"Aren't you!"

The two girls stood there and verbally duked it out over who was the worse friend. It was a belligerent argument, silly even. Five minutes into it, Sakuno forced herself to get it together, with the occasional spasm outright bawling caused, but otherwise, she was well out of tears. And her head hurt. The fact that her two best friends were about to kill each other didn't help, either.

Now that she'd managed to get her face good, sticky, and swollen in her tears, she appreciated the sight of her hair. It wasn't as short as she thought it was the first time she saw it. In fact, it was just a few centimeters longer than Ibu Shinji's hair, and Ryoma never said _his_ hair was too long for tennis.

That's right, she made this sacrifice for Ryoma. It was the only bit of advice he'd given her that she chose to ignore. Now, she should've truly met all of his expectations.

She couldn't back out now. Things were just getting started.

"A-ano, An-chan, Tomo-chan... I've changed my mind."

They squabbled a couple of seconds longer, Tomo managing one last reason why Tezuka was so much cooler than Tachibana Kippei, before they both paused and turned toward her in awe.

"I-I've changed my mind. I'm going... "

\---

"Game Ochibi, 3-games-all," Kikumaru shouted, as the battle between father and son raged on. Well, rather, Ryoma was the only one pissed beyond all belief; Nanjiroh just bounced the frame of his racket against his shoulder and gave his butt a good scratch.

"You do know, brat, that ladies don't appreciate their dates hot, sweaty and smelling like-."

"Shut up and serve," Ryoma muttered, pulling the bill of his cap over his eyes. Really, he had to be somewhere less than an hour. Getting in a quick shower after crushing the old guy would be nice.

By now, Ryuzaki should know well enough that Echizen Ryoma doesn't just sit around all day doing nothing, unless it's sleeping. How his senpai managed to keep him trapped in the main room as they blabbered about stupid things was beyond him. Maybe because he knew them too well, and, in turn, they knew him. They knew he was probably bound to change his mind if they didn't keep him in check. And he knew, that if he did back out, Kaidoh would scoff at him for breaking a promise and wasting his day. Momoshiro would scream at at him for "breaking the girl's heart" again. Kikumaru would get so enraged that he'd do something outrageous, like demand every cent he ever spent on burgers for his kouhai back (which was probably more yen than his dad paid to get him into Seishun.) Inui would have some strange, sizzling juice prepared for his forfeiture. Fuji would say or do something so disturbing it would cause eternal discomfort in Ryoma. Oishi would probably want to get to the heart of his refusal (and Ryoma chose to save his heart for tennis, thank you very much.) And Tezuka, well, the scary thing about Tezuka is Ryoma had no idea how his former captain would react, or even _if_ he would.

Ironically enough, that was what scared him the most: If all eight of his senpai didn't try to stop him at once from refusing to go through with this. In some twisted, uncanny way... Ryuzaki Sakuno had gotten Ryoma's attention. Damn it all.

"15-love!"

Ryoma blinked in surprise, as a cloud of dust danced around the newly formed dent in the ground.

"Aww, he was daydreaming about his girlfriend. I guess this match is over, then. Too bad, seishounen."

Before Ryoma could protest, Tezuka of all people stepped onto the court an pulled the racket out of his hand. As usual, one gaze into those authoritative eyes made the scowl he wore omnipresent, as if it could touch the inside of his soul. Well, fine then. Ryoma glared back, hoping in vain that Tezuka'd just get what he needed to say said and give back his racket so he could continue.

"Are you really going to give up?" Tezuka asked. _Of course not_ , Ryoma wanted to say, _so please give me back my racket_. But when Tezuka's very presence managed to entangle him in a web of uncertainty, Ryoma couldn't even speak. Everything the stoic captain said was rhetorical when he was in this state, and that's just how it was.

"I'll finish this match for you."

"What?" Echizen, father and son alike chimed in unison.

Tezuka turned toward Nanjiroh. "Do you still have what it takes?"

His question was answered with a delighted bout of laughter. "Do I still... do _I_ still have what it takes? Haha, you kids tickle me." Smirk. "Sure, kid. I'll try not to bruise your pride too badly, when you're done scolding the boy, of course."

Tezuka turned back toward Ryoma. "Echizen, I asked you to carry Seigaku in my stead for a reason. From what I've heard, the team has been too lax, and has been losing a games. Care to explain?"

Ryoma moaned. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? He had the sinking suspicion Tezuka was going to speak to him about his lack of leadership skills eventually, just... not _now_. Not in front of _everyone_. Not while he was to finish something here.

If God was gunning to make this the absolute worst day of his life, it was working.

All Ryoma could say in response, "Not my fault Horio sprained his ankle when we were up against St. Rudolph."

The court was silent for a second or two, until Momo whispered to Eiji, "He says that like he doesn't care."

"That's because he doesn't," stated Tezuka, just blunt and bitter enough to really startle the younger boy. "I didn't make a mistake by choosing you to lead Seishun back into the Nationals, did I?"

It was at that point where Ryoma realized where his captain was going with this. He had no faith. When he was a freshman, he shoved himself into the background, just where he liked to be, so he only had to worry about himself. No one was there to disturb his peace, and he could slip under that radar, the "first year" title, if you will, and crush his presumptuous foes once on the court. Now that everybody knew, respected, and depended on him, it wasn't quite as fun, and he was still learning how to handle it. He eventually started to lose his drive for success altogether. They didn't take on Kantou as a team, where all eight Regulars depended on one another. No, they took on Kantou, where the whole team relied on Echizen, which put him on the spot. Not to mention, he hadn't really learned anything from them. He never cared to pay enough attention.

He never knew what to tell his team mates, other than where they were flawed. Many of them just quit the team, after Ryoma practically told them "Give up. You suck." He didn't know why. Weren't they supposed to try to prove him wrong, or something lame like that? Where had that drive, that... connection he had with Seigaku gone? Tezuka Kunimitsu must've taken it with him-

-Of course he did, because the one thing Tezuka cared about above all else was his team, and bringing out the best in all of its members. He had a real passion for that kind of thing. Ryoma had never even tried it before.

Ryoma had to attain a passion for leading his team first, but he need just the right drive for it. That was something he needed to find on his own.

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely staring contest, but you don't have much time to get cleaned up before your date, Echizen," Fuji intervened, eyes open and barely smiling anymore. Seems Fuji caught on to what Tezuka was saying, just like he always did, and had a few choice words of his own, though he didn't have to say them to express them. The tensai was on the road to becoming pissed, and that alone could sink a continent, if Fuji so choosed. Seigaku meant the world to Tezuka, after all, and if that were to go down in shambles, it may very well be the crushing blow that drew the stoic captain into quitting tennis. Fuji couldn't have that. Tezuka was the only player better than himself that he knew, and it's what kept his interest in tennis alive. And tennis was the only interesting thing he knew right now.

The rest of the team had their eyes glued to the wonder boy. None of them could even began to imagine how embarrassed Echizen must've felt.

"Ne, buchou," through his humiliation, Ryoma managed a smirk and raised his eyes with enough intensity to counter the bespeckled captain's. "My team will be the best Seigaku has ever seen."

With that, Tezuka nodded once and turned toward Nanjiroh, who'd been snickering at Ryoma's embarrassing exposition the entire time.

"Let's see that it does."

\---

Sakuno never thought the color blue looked good on her. When she was ten, one of her cousins commented that it clashed too much with her hair, which was why most of her wardrobe consisted of pinks, whites, and yellows. Too much blue brought too much attention to her face, and she didn't like to show off.

But when Tomoka insisted that this skin tight, ankle-high gown that pooled out from the waist down was the one for her, Sakuno didn't argue. Apparently, even though she didn't always agree with it, Tomoka had better dress sense than she did. The baby blue brought much more attention to her hair, now dried and curled in the front. Though her face still held a ghost of swelling from her earlier bout of tears, she had to admit, she didn't look half bad.

Maybe, just maybe she'd impress Ryoma tonight. If nothing else, that'd be enough of a feat to carry her through the rest of the year.

"Ryoma-sama should be here any time now. Hurry, hurry, get into your shoes."

Once she'd slid into her dress shoes, she waited eagerly for Ryoma's arrival. She was worried for a moment that he wouldn't find the place, or that he even knew she was here. She figured An would've told the boys, but once the time for him to be there had come, there was nobody at the door. An phoned Momoshiro to make sure they had they were headed to the right house, and even stood outside to wait for them.

After a long phase of twiddling her jumpy fingers, she checked the clock in fear. The dance itself had started five minutes ago, thought Sakuno, with a groan. He couldn't have forgotten, right? No, when Ryoma says he'll do something, he sticks to it. Otherwise, she would've been told _'mada mada dane'_ in response to her request, or something.

Being fashionably late was what he did, though. She was worrying too much. He was late to everything; school, tennis matches, everything. Always late, always worrying people with his apathy, slow motion, and sleeping habits. She wondered if he fell asleep and forgot to wake up in time. No, his friends would be there to make sure Ryoma got up and got ready. Something was wrong.

Before she could go down the list of all the possibilities, though, An walked though the door with Ryoma and Momo on her tail. Once the dolled up girl got an eyeful of her date, she let rip a tiny giggle. Thank goodness he was here.

But also, "A-ano, Ryoma-kun, w-would you like me to help you with that?"

As she walked slowly up to him, he looked down at the offending object in question. Indeed, buttoning a shirt, sliding into a pair of shoes, and tying a tie all at the same time was about as easy as giving Karupin a bath. All the while, Kikumaru was spraying deodorant under his shirt, and Oishi was trying to comb out the shorter boy's wet hair. Once that was done, Ryoma then realized he still had a toothbrush in his mouth, and fell and landed right on top of his pants. He claimed it didn't matter, but all of his senpai insisted that he go change, even though the only clean pair he had left was part of his spare school uniform. This was going to be a long night.

He made no objections when Sakuno stood there and redid his tie, even if Momoshiro was way too amused by it.

"You're being loud, senpai."

"AHAHAHAHA! Tough break, Echizen."

"Really, it's not that funny."

When Sakuno was finished, she smiled right up at him. It was then that he noticed something... different. Something... missing? Ryoma couldn't quite put his finger on it, though.

"Let's go," Seigaku's captain muttered, not offering to take her hand, or anything romantic of the sort. It was much more like he only wanted to get this all over with. Sakuno wouldn't let that get to her, though. It's how he always was.

Once they were out of Tomoka, Momoshiro and An's sights, who were probably still lingering in the doorway as they walked, Sakuno ducked her head down and sighed.

"I'm sorry I made you go through so much trouble for this."

Ryoma shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me."

"You look nice."

"Not really."

He was in his school uniform, with a tie added on. He was literally out the door at the very last minute after all, and didn't have time to raid the nether regions of his closet to find anything else even remotely formal to wear.

He had hardly looked at her yet, but decided to spare her a glance just for the heck of it. She probably went through just as much hell as him, considering how loud that best friend of hers was and all.

"You cut your hair," Ryoma stated, as if it were just something out of the blue he barely put any thought into. He was glad she'd done it, though. Hair as long as that had no place in tennis.

She took a shuddery breath. "Do you like it?"

"Sure."

That was the extent of that topic. Sakuno didn't know whether to be more frustrated or relieved, that he hadn't approved nor denounce the new look. She'd been dreading Ryoma's reaction to her new hair from the get-go, and yet he could seem to care less. Same old Ryoma.

Their late arrival went unnoticed, making it fairly painless.

They didn't make it in time to see the awkward moment, where everyone just stared at the dance floor for a half an hour. Not that he minded. It was a waste of time to just stand around a school dance and, well, not dance. That belief would make him a hypocrite, though. Ryoma hadn't quite developed the proper mind set for this situation yet. He thought he'd just be going to this thing. The fact that it was a dance, in which the people, well, danced, didn't really sink in until he was there. He didn't object to it, though. Once he spotted Horio trying to demonstrate he smooth moves to some poor second year girl, Ryoma led Sakuno up to him, trying not to show too much amusement.

"Mada mada dane."

"Oi, Echizen!" said Horio in the middle of a dip. The shock those sudden, smirking hazel eyes gave him almost caused him to drop his date. She looked a little frightened until Horio brought her back up.

He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Ah, gomen, gomen!"

Reluctantly accepting the apology, the two of them proceeded to dance, and Ryoma followed in suit with Sakuno. He'd never done this before, but like all other new experiences, this couldn't be too hard to get the hang of. All he had to do was not step on Sakuno's feet, or draw any attention to himself; that way, he'd look just as stupid as everybody else. Surely he didn't (couldn't) look as stupid as Horio, which was why he chose to dance beside him and his date. Maybe this would be fun after all, if only to see how long that poor girl could last.

"Too bad Tomo-chan couldn't come. Her parents are away on vacation, so she has to baby-sit the twins," Sakuno said.

"Twins?"

"Oh, you didn't see them. Tomo-chan had them locked in their room all day because of an incident with their fridge."

"I see."

Sakuno sighed pleasantly. "That's why she wanted me to come here so badly. I'm... glad I did."

"Ah," well, considering how many boring people there were in this school, Ryoma couldn't blame her for coming to him. Still, "Why'd you ask me?"

"Ah, well, I... " her face flushed pure scarlet. It shouldn't have been any secret to him really. Everyone and their grandma (especially hers) knew she had a crush on Ryoma the size of Tokyo. Some girls on her team often teased her playfully about it, while some others just glared at her jealously. After all, she was riding on their territory. She wondered if, quite literally, more than half the school's female population had a crush on Ryoma. He wasn't just deemed the Prince of Tennis anymore, but he was also prince of the school. It seemed he didn't even notice he'd been anointed that title, or he just ignored it. Ryoma didn't notice any other girls, but he did notice her, at least enough to bring her here tonight.

That alone made this evening enough.

After they'd approached the last hour of the dance, Ryoma got thirsty.

About a block away from the courts, there was a vending machine. When Sakuno informed him that she'd be in the ladies room, he told her he'd be buying himself drink. He had to bum some yen off of Mizuno first, since his senpai didn't give him enough time to grab any. Honestly, who here (besides Tezuka) was the captain, anyway?

But grumbling about his stupid choice in friends aside, he was thirsty as hell. Dancing took more work than it seemed. Good thing he had impressive footwork on the courts, because he'd be at a complete loss otherwise on the dance floor.

Ryuzaki didn't complain at all. In fact, she spent almost the entire evening with a smile on her face. She usually seemed so nervous and reserved, but tonight she wasn't afraid to let her heart shine in her eyes for him. Blue looked nice on her, too.

Once he reached the vending machine, he clicked the first button that said Ponta, not minding the flavor, and was quick to head back to the school. She'd be waiting for him, and she's waited long enough.

_Siiiip._

Coming up from the rear was a spiky haired boy with an identical can of Ponta in his grip. If only he were taller, Ryoma could swear it was Momoshiro. He almost told his senpai to buzz off, but then he realized it wasn't Momo, but-

"Enjoying your night, Echizen-buchou?"

_Ochi Yukio._

Well, this was going to be a _fun_ situation to weasel out of. Ryoma frowned, and took a nice, long swig of Ponta to keep his lips occupied. He'd deal with this guy personally... later.

"I saw you with that really cute girl. She's the granddaughter of our coach, isn't she?"

Ryoma didn't answer.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

It was now or never, Ryoma thought. Time to blurt out something right off the tip of his tongue.

"Who are you?"

Eh, that was going to be a tricky one to pull off, but Ryoma didn't mind the challenge. It gave him something mildly amusing to do this evening. Ochi's face flushed, eyebrows knitted, and arms flailed.

Ponta splashed all over the both of them in that instant. The captain made a note to give Ochi fifty laps Monday morning, and an additional twenty in the afternoon if he was in a bad mood. For the moment, Ryoma just let it slide.

"It's not nice to splash people you don't even know with juice."

"What are you talking about, Echizen-buchou? Of course I know you! Everybody does!"

"Mmm, I see-" Ryoma took a moment to ring the juice out of his tie before he continued. "-People mistake me for my cousin all the time."

"Your... cousin?"

Ryoma nodded.

"My name is Echigo Nanigashi, Ryoma-san's identical cousin."

Somehow, Ochi doubted this was truly a mirror image of his buchou. Granted, he'd only recently joined the team and barely knew his captain, the similarities in appearance between this boy and Echizen were uncanny. Hell, he was even wearing a Seigaku school uniform with a tie over it. Why would his captain's _cousin_ be wearing that of all things?

Actually, why would his _cousin_ be here at all?

"Ryoma-san's playing sick, just so he wouldn't have to bring his girlfriend here tonight. He's such a jerk-"

Okay, now that part didn't sound like Echizen. Calling someone a jerk with vehemence, and dancing the night away with a pretty girl. Playing sick, however, was believable, and Echizen certainly was a jerk. He wouldn't even give his own teammates a chance to show him their skill. Albeit one of the best tennis players in the history of Seigaku, he definitely had to be one of the worst captains.

Ochi would crush him.

"Say, _Echigo_ -kun, do you play tennis?"

"Nope. Can't stand it."

There was someone in Echizen's family who couldn't stand tennis? He didn't think it was possible, but nevertheless, "That's too bad. I was in the mood for a good match."

"Well," _Echigo_ started, devising a brilliant plan with which to wrap up the evening. Something so good, it would knock Ochi off of his self-righteous pedestal for awhile, and inspire him to rebuild himself. The poor guy needed it.

"Ryoma-san's girlfriend is a good player."

Ochi stared at him like he had two heads for a second, then took a minute to consider it. Of course! She was the granddaughter of their tennis coach, and the captain's girlfriend. Her being good at tennis made perfect sense.

Still, she was awfully dainty, skinny, and shaky to be a great tennis player. He smirked. By crushing her, he was indirectly crushing Echizen, as well. _Perfect_ , he thought.

"Mind if I have a one set match with her?"

Ryoma shrugged. "That's up to her. I'll go ask. We'll meet you right here when we're ready."

 _Perfect_ , Ochi thought again. This was going to be easier than taking down their vice captain. There was no way in hell he could lose.

\---

"Why did you bring me here, Ryoma-kun? This is the _boy's_ locker room?"

And it smelled every bit as bad as she was told. And it was the _'BOYS'_ locker room. This was beyond awkward for her; it was just forbidden. She felt the need to cover her eyes and run out the door as quickly as her little legs could carry her.

"It's not like I have the keys to the _girl's_ locker room."

"But... why are we... ?"

"You're going to play tennis. I have to find you something to wear-"

"E-excuse me? What do you mean I'm... tennis? Ryoma-kun? Why? Against who? I don't have my racket. And I'm not very good-"

"You'll be fine. Now-"

His finger scrolled down the first page of some olive green notebook and paused dead in the center of the page. "Here were go."

He began to work out the combination on one of the lockers, until a familiar click satisfied his ears. He pulled the door open and rummaged around the unkempt pile of junk inside of this compact space until he found what he was looking for.

Ryoma handed her a wrinkled uniform and continued to dig about, seeing if he couldn't find a sufficient pair of sneakers to go with it. "A-ano, why would one of your teammates keep and girl's uniform in his locker?"

"Beats me," said Ryoma, feeling rather irritated with the mess that was forming on the floor. Murakami would know somebody had broken into his locker, and he'd accuse one of his teammates of being a stalker, a thief, or a pervert, and rave about it for a week, or so. He was a strange guy, but at least he could play a decent game of tennis, so it wasn't like Ryoma cared.

 _Ah, sneakers_. Good thing Murakami had such tiny feet, too, or else Sakuno would have to play tennis barefoot.

"You didn't... answer my question, Ryoma-kun. Why am I playing tennis?"

"Why not?"

"That's NOT an answer!" Sakuno yelled, then blushed right afterward. "G-gomen-nasai."

"Ryuzaki?"

Once Ryoma had Murakami's nerve-wracking junk pile safely secured back in the over-stuffed locker, he turned toward the bemused girl with what could pass as a pleading look. At least, as close to one as Ryoma would allow anyone to notice. Sakuno almost dropped the wrinkled uniform when she saw it. He'd never asked anything of her, anything at all, but now, for the first time, he looked like he needed her.

She didn't know why; she didn't even know if this was real, or if it was just some hopeful dream. She'd always wished that, someday, Ryoma would need her. No matter what the situation. If he ever needed her, she wanted to be right there with him. Her worth was only wishful thinking most of the time, like the situation broken racket slicing his eyelid a couple of years ago.

It was different this time, though. He requested her help, she didn't just offer it. It was almost too good to be true.

Sakuno bowed. "I'll play, Ryoma-kun."

Since (to his knowledge) the club house was locked up, Ochi had changed into his tennis clothes in the closest bathroom his could find. He was waiting patiently by the vending machine he'd found _Echigo_ at.

This was going to be a hoot, crushing Echizen's girlfriend right before his very eyes.

Who the hell was he trying to kid, anyway? He'd heard all about this pretentious young captain throughout the years and wanted to puke. Ryoma always tried to pull stunts like this, making people believe he was somebody else, to avoid being put on the spot. It _almost_ worked, but that careless, stuck up attitude the pint sized buchou carried with him was nothing that could be imitated. Since the moment Echizen refused his offer in the club house, he knew that the captain thought poorly of him. He couldn't stand it!

Just because Echizen went undefeated for two years didn't mean he had the right to ignore his players.

Echizen would pay for his negligence.

"Ne, uh... "

"Ochi Yukio, the most powerful player in Seigaku!"

Ryoma had to repress a snort.

"Okay, Ochi-kun. This is Saku-chan. She'll be your opponent."

"S-saa," the nickname caused her face to burn with an unhealthy, florid color, despite the circumstances. "Ry... uh, Na-kun, are you... sure this guy will... be a challenge?"

He wanted to slap himself, but that'd be a dead giveaway. Sakuno was really bad at acting.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was your girlfriend, _Echigo_ -kun."

"Ryoma-san got to her first, I'm afraid."

Girlfriend? Sakuno stared at Ryoma as if he were a ghost. Ignoring the bemused glance, he just dug into the duffle bag he stuffed her dress into and pulled out a racket. It was time to get serious, before things got unnecessarily awkward between the two of them.

"Let's get this thing over with already," said _Echigo_ , claiming tennis was so boring, and the sooner this was over, the better. Ochi almost doubted this was Echizen once again.

Keyword, _almost_.

\---

"Game, Ryuzaki, six-games-to-three."

Ochi had been blatantly humiliated once again by his captain.

Sakuno stared down at the green frame of the racket she'd used and was trembling. She... won? Was this supposed to happen? Was she supposed to know how to avoid hitting deep shots? How to force her players to backhand? How to detect weaknesses in her opponents play? Surely, any of what she learned in order to defeat the second year boy was from what Ryoma had told her to do. She held her hand out to Ochi, hoping he'd shake and accept defeat just like that, but he completely ignored her.

It looked as if arrows were shooting from his gaze, and every single one was aimed at Echizen Ryoma. She couldn't tell whether the younger boy was closer to crying or killing his captain.

"Echizen-buchou, why do you keep humiliating me like this?"

Ouch. He sounded truly hurt with that, and Sakuno groaned. Indeed, she wanted to know what his intentions were, too. They couldn't have been just to embarrass the poor guy, could they? Ryoma was pretty rude at times, but he wasn't flat-out cruel.

"So, you've figured me out, then," said Ryoma, stepping down from the bleachers. He took a few steps toward Ochi, who was presently on his knees, trying to avoid the first sob. The captain rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Now, did you figure yourself out?"

Ochi tore his gaze from the expectant captain. If he was going to cry, he didn't want to see the look on Ryoma's face. It was too much to bare.

"I... don't know what you mean."

"Well, then figure it out. What shots did Ryuzaki send your way?"

It took him a moment, as he was already trying to block the present defeat from his train of thought. What had she been doing? What...

"Shallow," Ochi whispered. "I had to run up to the net a lot."

"And?"

"And-" _And?_ Was there really anything else? Something else about this match frustrated the piss out of him, but...

"And... and... oh!" His eyes met Ryoma's again. "I had to hit a lot of backhand shots!"

"Bingo," Ryoma dead-panned. "Mada mada dane."

"Ah... oh... " Frustrated tears surfaced, and the second year was officially crushed. His two biggest weaknesses were exposed in the worst possible way. He didn't think such a sweet looking girl could play tennis so well, meaning he had also judged his opponents by appearance alone. She was just good enough to expose every little flaw he had. She messed with his tempo, too, hitting balls to the opposite sides of the court so he'd have to chase them, lowering his stamina. She avoided lobbing as much as possible, taking away his ability to smash. And her concentration was flawless. Once she stopped thinking entirely an found herself in game mode, she played well. This was a brand new discovery, even for Ryoma, and especially for herself.

Ryoma evolved two tennis players just now, and he didn't even have to lift his racket. He'd have to try this with the rest of his team sometime.

"Ochi."

"H-hai-"

"Are you done being arrogant?"

"Hai, desu."

"Good. Improve yourself, become a Regular, and help my team make it to the Nationals this year."

"Hai, desu! Arigatou-gozaimasu, buchou."

Ochi stood and bowed before his captain. He had the wrong idea about Echizen entirely. This whole time, all he wanted was for Ochi to realize where he was weak, so he could improve and join the Regulars. It made the situation far less humiliating and more fulfilling, which he was grateful for. He would always remember this, as the day his road to stardom truly began.

He bid the pair farewell. One down, seven to go. Maybe now they could make it to the Nationals as a team, rather than their captain's trained monkey squad after all.

He couldn't have done it without Sakuno. Without the fact that she was a girl to really stick it to Ochi, this wouldn't have worked as well. So, tonight wasn't a total waste after all.

Once Sakuno got cleaned up and slid back into her now duffle bag disheveled dress, Ryoma awaited her outside of the girl's bathroom.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," he whispered upon her return.

She smiled nervously at him and took his hand. "It was my pleasure, Ryoma-kun, though I wasn't sure if I was going to win-"

"I was," said Ryoma, as they walked off from the school, hand in hand together. He returned her gesture without really realizing it. "You've improved a little. I'll bet it was the haircut."

"You think so?"

"Aa, it was too long before. It made your forehand shots sloppy. Now it's perfect."

Wow, _perfect_? She couldn't imagine anything about her being perfect in Ryoma's eyes. One thing was for sure now, she no longer regretted letting An cut it.

"Ryoma-kun... "

"Hmmm?"

"Well... about tonight... ah, oooh... "

"What about tonight?"

She was at a loss for words once again. What she really wanted to do was ask how he felt about her, now that they've... officially _dated_? No, that wasn't it. Ryoma never dated. He probably just felt obligated to come-

-Or so she thought, until the silence became way too much for either of them to bare. Ryoma bent forward and kissed her square on the lips before she even knew it.

And by the time she did, he pulled back.

"That's for giving me what I was missing."

"W-what you were missing?"

"Aa."

She didn't question that any further. Given that one of his team mates was to evolve because of her, she figured something about that match flipped a switch on inside of Ryoma. From this point forward he was going to be a real tennis captain in Tezuka's stead, unlike last year, where his Regulars barely made it through Kantou.

How she could inspire the young tennis prodigy was beyond her, but as long as she was needed, she'd do her best to be an active part of his world.

"Ne, where do you live again?"

He just had to learn a bit more about her now, and then he'd be all set.

E N D


End file.
